I received a text from my local TV station last night at 6:59 P.M. Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, Inc. had lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 56. Immediately the e-news purveyors and e-news aggregators sprang into action providing biographical information. The social media sites were full of tributes as Wednesday became Thursday. A true visionary would dream no more.
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| source: morgueFile |
Information Is Power.
Steve Jobs changed the way information and entertainment are originated, curated and disseminated. The fact that someone else would have eventually developed the same vehicles does nothing to diminish the fact that Steve Jobs was the first. Steve Jobs ability to make tech tangible to the technophobic is true genius. Without Steve Jobs consider the state of computer accessibility, mobile entertainment and movie animation. That's quite a diverse portfolio, yet Steve Jobs managed that portfolio seamlessly. Steve Jobs is undoubtedly the model of the 21st Century Renaissance Man.
Farewell, Steve Jobs.
I was in shock when I read that he passed away yesterday. He died way to young!
ReplyDeleteI am and forever will be an Apple lover (as I type on my much cheaper PC). I had the very first mac, scored as part of a school sale, and many more after that. Steve Jobs has always fascinated me, his technological innovations were revolutionary, and the man himself was incredibly dynamic and inspirational. The void he leaves will be a difficult one to fill.
ReplyDeleteKrissy,
ReplyDeleteI wasn't surprised that Steve Jobs died. His resignation was a signal as to what to expect, but Jeez all the things he had going and didn't "enjoy" retirement for much more than a month. Teaches us all to never take anything for granted. As I told someone today, You know I must be doing OK, Steve Jobs would trade places with me today, sight unseen.
Erin,
I remember sitting down at a an old Mac, but I was always an MS/DOS guy. Didn't even know what I was looking at or how to use it.
Jobs void in terms of vision will be huge. Like most visionaries, he cooked by taste. Just duplicating the ingredients will most likely not produce the same results. From an operations standpoint, if he's the leader he's being described as, they'll be fine. A primary responsibility of a leader is to prepare the org. for the days when you are gone. But yes, he will be missed but I daresay never forgotten.
I agree, Barry. Never take ANYthing for granted. I wasn't a huge apple fan either. Actually I have never purchased anything apple. He was a true visionary and I'm sure the world is at a loss without him.
ReplyDeleteAnd something that Steve Jobs understood and imparted upon Apple that other companies just don't is user experience. The idea that "it just works." It frustrates some power-users that want to get in there and mess around, or that want open-development (I've got Ubuntu on my netbook!) but Jobs understood the importance of making something simple and specific - and then making it incrementally better. We never remember how many phones HTC or Motorola puts out per year, but we know how many iPhones come out per year - because for better or worse, Jobs put a punctuation mark on the idea of technological revision.
ReplyDeleteCrystal,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words. Enjoy today, tomorrow is not guaranteed.
Zach,
It's funny I gravitate to open platform, because I don't have the skill set to go in and tinker. I just like the concept. I find it ironic that Jobs and Gates whose products made computer usage accessible only champion accessibility to a certain point. I understand the reasons for purity of brand, but why not take every opportunity to improve a product? As for stats on sales, self confidence eliminates the need to compare.